Leo Minor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 List of stars in Leo Minor |
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| Abbreviation | LMi |
|---|---|
| Genitive | Leonis Minoris |
| Pronunciation | /ˌliːoʊ ˈmaɪnər/, genitive /liːˈoʊnɨs mɨˈnɒrɨs/ |
| Symbolism | the Small Lion |
| Right ascension | 10 h |
| Declination | +35° |
| Area | 232 sq. deg. (64th) |
| Main stars | 2 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars |
34 |
| Stars with known planets |
1 |
| Bright stars | 0 |
| Nearby stars | 2 |
| Brightest star | 46 LMi (Praecipua) (3.83m) |
| Nearest star | 11 LMi (36.5 ly) |
| Messier objects | 0 |
| Bordering constellations |
Ursa Major Lynx Cancer (corner) Leo |
| Visible at latitudes between +90° and −45°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of April. |
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Leo Minor is a small and faint constellation. Its name means "the smaller lion", in contrast to Leo, the larger lion. Its brightest stars form a rough triangle, and it lies between the larger and more recognizable Ursa Major and Leo. Leo Minor was not regarded as a separate constellation by the ancients; it was created by Johannes Hevelius in 1687.
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[edit] Notable features
Leo Minor contains little to see with small telescopes.
[edit] Stars
There is only one star brighter than fourth magnitude.
- 46 LMi (Praecipua): an almost (but not quite) giant star of spectral class K0 which lies at a distance of approximately 98 light years and sports an apparent brightness of 3.83. Praecipua does not have a Bayer designation, making Leo Minor the only constellation whose brightest star does not have one.
- β LMi: strangely enough this giant star of spectral class G8 is the only star with a Bayer designation, and with its apparent magnitude of 4.21 it is not even the brightest star of Leo Minor.
- R LMi: this cool long-period variable star (a Mira variable) varies between magnitudes 6.3 and 13.2 during a period of 372.19 days.
- 20 LMi: this binary star system is only 14.9 parsecs away from the Sun.
[edit] Deep sky objects
The brightest deep sky object in Leo Minor is NGC 3003, a galaxy with an apparent brightness of 11.7m and an angular size of 5.9 arcminutes. It is seen almost edge-on.
The mysterious deep sky object known as Hanny's Voorwerp was discovered here in 2007 by Dutch school teacher Hanny van Arkel while participating as a volunteer in the Galaxy Zoo project.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2007). Stars and Planets Guide, Collins, London. ISBN 978-0007251209. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 978-0691135564.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leo Minor |
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